1. You have a booth renter who is late on the rent — again. You …a. Complain to the other booth renters and ask around to see if anyone they know is looking for a station to rent.b. Leave a sticky note on her station to remind her and give her nasty looks to let her know you mean business.c. Have a private conversation with the booth renter to work out a solution and follow up with a professional letter.

2. One of your employees comes to you to complain that another technician is poaching her clients. You …a. Call some of the technicians’ clients to get to the bottom of things. b. Tell the complaining tech to put on her big girl panties and deal.c. Take the opportunity to remind all employees of the booking policies during the next staff meeting. After all, you are a team.

3. Clients are expressing concern over the topics of conversation in the salon. You …a. Go directly to the offending nail tech and let her know Mrs. Smith doesn’t appreciate her potty mouth. b. Start fining technicians when they use foul language.c. Come up with a strategy that encourages positive exchanges in the salon. The technicians don’t really need to know who it was that complained. The important thing is to create a great experience for all patrons.

4. You are interviewing potential team members or booth renters. Which would be the most revealing question to ask?a. Can you get copies of your client information from your previous salon without them finding out?b. How fast can you do a pedicure?c. How would you describe the ultimate client experience?

5. It’s staff development time. You want to hold a special in-house training session. You …a. Design and deliver the program yourself. You are the boss and know it all, so who better?b. Use this opportunity to bring up each person’s weaknesses and address them as a group.c. Bring in an expert to help facilitate the program. Having an objective third party may help staff members open up and share the new ideas.

6. A fellow nail professional in the salon is going through a rough time personally. You …a. Tell everyone the inside scoop on what’s going on with the technician.b. Tell the technician to leave her personal problems at home — after all, you aren’t her mother.c. Have a private talk with the technician to see what adjustments can be made to lessen the impact to her job performance. Allow the technician to decide how much and when to disseminate information to peers. Reassure her that her privacy is important. >>>

7. Your biggest day-to-day concern is …a. Having a place for your friends to work.b. Making sure everyone likes you.c. Making sure the business is healthy and you’re being fair. It’s sometimes hard since we are friends here.

8. You are expanding the salon to include a number of new booth rental suites. The existing booth renters are concerned this will mean less business for each of them. You …a. Tell them it’s none of their business.b. Count on replacing some of the existing booth renters when they get mad and leave.c. Realize change is uncomfortable and host the first annual business-building conference. You plan on inviting networking and ad pros, community leaders, and industry experts. After all, as each of the renters’ businesses grows, it attracts more traffic to your location.

9. After an unpopular announcement you are faced with the threat of a walkout. You …a. Tell them not to let the door hit them on the way out.b. Threaten booth renters with legal action and warn the employees not to use you as a reference.c. Call a salon meeting so everyone can be on the same page. Calmly explain some of the key factors and how they impact employees/booth renters, then answer questions technicians may have. Reassure them that the success of the salon is number one and take suggestions to further deal with their concerns.

10. Being “the boss” means …a. I can do whatever I want!b. If you don’t like it you can leave.c. I have many viewpoints to consider when deciding how to proceed. I know everyone won’t always be happy but at least they know I’m looking out for them.

Results: Mostly A’s: Really? We know you didn’t really say that. OK, you are kidding. But seriously, building a strong team starts with trust and respect. Remember the days when you worked for someone else? How did you feel? Now use that as a starting point as you establish a winning team.

Mostly B’s: You may be the boss but a lesson in tact may be in order. Next time, take a deep breath and think carefully before responding. It’s OK to seek the advice of a mentor to help navigate some of the delicate areas. Ordering products and writing checks is the easy part; dealing with personnel issues as the boss — not so easy.

Mostly C’s: You’re a champ! You’ve mastered some of the tricky areas that appear as you lead a diverse group of creative people to a common goal. You realize it’s not a popularity contest … and that’s OK. You are fiercely protective of the people in your charge and your business. Go team!